Kenzo / Spring 2014 RTW

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La Cité du Cinéma, a massive film complex designed by Luc Besson and on the outskirts of Paris, is known among locals as Hollywood-on-the-Seine. Walk into the studio where Kenzo held their show today, and ironically the first thing that comes into view is a landmark from the opposite side of the United States, a scaled-down chunk of the Brooklyn Bridge. These days, designers Humberto Leon and Carol Lim split their time between Paris and New York, but once upon a time California was the place they called home. The duo drew directly from their sunny West Coast roots this season, and the laid-back culture that comes with living within reach of a beach.

Speakers topped with water lined the runway as far as the eye could see, and models streamed out with a wall of water crashing behind them. The oceanic theme played out in the clothes in multiple quirky and charming ways, too. Hemlines on cropped button-downs dipped and rose like the crest of a wave, and a biker jacket—a city dweller’s go-to—was cut from scuba fabric and covered in appliqué fish. Hand-drawn aquatic prints covered cropped pants that were often grounded with a sporty platform sneaker. And if the models weren’t carrying beach totes knotted from sailing rope, then they had one of the label’s new nifty Kalifornia bags tucked under their arm. Lim and Leon have a knack for assimilating our latest obsessions, and they’ve brought an up-to-the-minute youthful edge to the label’s global vision: Slip-on mules inspired by the changing L.A. skyline had heels the size and shape of an iPhone 5.